Five Questions with FutureM Show Host Debi Kleiman #FutureM

It’s been the buzz at Digital Pulse Boston and it’s also all we’re hearing at the FutureM show under the same roof in the Hynes Convention Center in Boston this week.

Now that we've covered the opening of the Digital Pulse, we’ll shift gears to FutureM for the rest of the week. Follow our tweets at @cmswire and #FutureM.

CMSWire.com caught up with Debi Kleiman, president of the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX), the host of the fourth annual FutureM conference.

What challenges are you seeing in the industry from the voices of stakeholders?

Stakeholders want to understand how marketing and technology intersect so they can successfully take advantage of the new marketing ecosystem. This is no easy feat because the landscape is continually changing.

At FutureM, thought leaders from technology, marketing and many different industries will assemble to explore this. The big ideas for the "Future of Marketing" could really come from anywhere -- maybe not where you might think. Some of the biggest innovations of late have come from areas that seemingly did not relate or were creating disruptions that upset the traditional way of doing things. So that’s a cool lens in which to view what’s coming next.

What are some highlights or tidbits from the conference?

We have a really impressive line-up of speakers including Aman Govil of Google, who talked about the advertising revolution being fueled by modern web and mobile technologies; Umang Shah, the director of social strategy for Wal-Mart Stores, who will share how an analytical and data-driven approach builds deeper customer relationships; Linda Boff, the executive director of global brand marketing at General Electric, who will give a talk entitled "Transparent Brand, 2025's Media Strategy." GE has been doing tons of innovative marketing things lately.

We have folks from the academic, science and art worlds that are bringing that outside perspective on what’s possible and so many more.

If there is one takeaway you'd like conference attendees to come away with next week, what would it be?

FutureM is about what’s next in marketing and we want people to come away with entirely new ways of approaching problems, evaluating strategies and kick-starting innovation. Upping their appetite for some risk-taking. We think of FutureM as a place not just to listen and learn, but as a platform to create, connect and develop -- and get inspired! We hope the event will be an opportunity for attendees to explore new concepts that lead to actionable ideas.

How is this particular space emerging in terms of trends, forecasts and general changes in the way folks operate in their businesses today?

Businesses and brands face a far more complex marketing landscape than ever before. Marketing and advertising now go far beyond the traditional campaign to incorporate the vast digital space -- web presence, social networks, huge quantities of data and mobile devices. Consumers are more connected than ever -- and their attention is also more divided than ever.

The challenge of the next generation of marketers will be to master these new domains by implementing what I like to call “bendable storylines” that are agile and consumer friendly as we invite the customer to interact with brands and empower them to build the narrative.

Anything new this year vs. past conferences?

This year our theme is about exploring the ways that digital technology and media are colliding with new industries and ideas to reshape the modern marketing landscape -- we call that "Innovation at Intersections." We hope that this conference will bring together our most diverse group yet as we grow from a more regionally focused event to a national gathering.

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